Buying and renovating a home in Italy was something Doug and Leah Johnson had often dreamed about. The couple, who are based in Gloucester, Massachusetts, say they’d sometimes go to view houses while vacationing in the European country.

But splashing out on a property there hadn’t seemed like a viable option until Doug came across a listing for a 14th-century apartment in the town of Vasanello, located in the Italian region of Lazio, with a sale price of just 13,000 euros (about $13,450).